More than 1.8m emergency food parcels provided for families with children in past year across the UK – a 46% increase compared to five years ago, reports Trussell

New figures released today by Trussell reveal that 2.9 million emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship across the UK between April 2024 and March 2025, with more than a million of these provided for children. This is equivalent to one parcel every 11 seconds and a 51% increase compared to five years ago.

The annual figures also show significant numbers of parents struggling to afford the essentials. Since 2019/20 there has been a 46% rise in emergency food parcels provided to families with children, and a 32% rise in parcels to support children under the age of five.

Many food banks in the Trussell community are now reporting seeing severe levels of hunger and hardship that are ‘heartbreaking', with some parents forced to ration their own food to ensure they can feed their children, as well as people in such desperate situations that they open food parcels to eat before leaving the food bank.

The charity reported a slight dip (8%) in the total number of emergency food parcels compared to the record levels of the previous year. However, Trussell has clear evidence that this slight decrease does not necessarily indicate reduced need. Food banks across the UK continue to struggle to meet local need, and many report challenges with referrals due to other local services being stretched to breaking point.

Karen Burgon, chief executive at Leeds North and West Foodbank, said: “Our food bank is continuing to see far too many people who are forced to need our help. We're seeing really high numbers of families, disabled people, working people, and older people, struggling to afford the essentials. Food donations are not keeping up with the level of need we are seeing, and this is putting us under a lot of strain.

“We have found ourselves spending up to £12,000 every month to supplement the donations we receive, which is a real worry to us as we anticipate even more people needing our support in the year ahead. It's not right that anyone should be forced to turn to charity for emergency food.

“While we continue to campaign for change to prevent people from needing to use a food bank in the first place, if you can, we would encourage you to play your part and donate food or funds to help make sure everyone in our community can access the help they need.”

Andrew, 44, from Fife is a single father with a young daughter. He was just 34 when his autoimmune condition forced him to stop working. His social security payments are often not enough to get by and he has been forced to food banks to survive.

He said: “When the doctor said I couldn't work it felt like my purpose had gone. I do what I can to make ends meet. I make sure my daughter doesn't see that I am regularly skipping meals so that she can eat. I eat whatever is left on her plate when she's finished. I lost almost two stone last year through not eating enough.

“All I want is to make her smile, but it's tough. Poverty isn't just about money—it's the constant stress of trying to survive.

“There are good people in the world, people who drop something in the collection baskets, thinking of a child who will get a meal. If you're feeling hopeless or isolated, know that you're not alone, and there's always someone who cares. Even in the hardest moments, kindness can change lives.”

With MPs soon to vote on the UK government's proposals to cut essential support for sick and disabled people, Trussell is warning that these changes could force even more people to turn to food banks to get by. Disabled people are already overrepresented at food banks, with three in four of people referred to a food bank in the Trussell community saying they or a member of their household are disabled, placing them at the highest risk of hunger and hardship.

The charity is urging the government to re-think these proposed cuts and to urgently update Universal Credit to ensure that everyone has enough money to afford the essentials in life. This means bringing forward the planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit from April 2029 to April 2026.

Trussell is also calling on the UK government to fulfil its commitment to an ambitious child poverty strategy, which must include ending the two-child limit – a change that would lift 470,000 children out of severe hardship.

Without urgent and positive action, the charity says there is a real risk the UK government will fail in its manifesto pledge to end the need for emergency food. In fact, they are at risk of overseeing an increase in hunger and hardship across the UK and more families will be forced to turn to food banks to survive.

Emma Revie, chief executive of Trussell, said: “Thousands of families with children, single households, disabled people, working people and older people from across the UK needed to access food banks for emergency food in the past year. A whole generation has now grown up in a country where sustained high levels of food bank need feel like the norm. This should be a massive wake-up call to government and a stark reminder of their responsibilities to the people of this country.

“This UK government will fail to deliver on its promise to improve living standards for us all unless it rows back on its harmful policy choices on disability benefits and housing support and shows greater ambition on areas like the upcoming child poverty strategy and future of local crisis support. Without action, they risk leaving a legacy of rising food bank need and child poverty.

“It is clear that the public's cost of living fears are far from over, and these numbers show why. If the UK government truly wants to improve public services, boost the economy and make the UK a better place to live, then addressing hunger and hardship must be a priority.”

Food banks need everyone to play their part to move us towards ending the need for emergency food in the UK. The public can help make sure food banks can continue to provide warm, compassionate, practical support and advice in the year ahead by donating food or funds to Trussell or your local food bank to help end hunger in the UK.

You can find out how many emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship in your local area on the Trussell website: campaign.trussell.org.uk/parcels-by-postcode

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About Trussell:

We're an anti-poverty charity and community of food banks. We work together to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive, while providing emergency food and practical support for people left without enough money to live on.

Notes to editors:

Number of emergency food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell community: 1 April – 31 March 2019/20, 2023/24, and 2024/25.